1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to implantable medical devices, and particularly to cochlear implants or the like utilizing a suction cup for securement against a bone surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. Cochlear implants may help provide hearing in patients who are deaf due to damage to sensory hair cells in their cochleas. In these patients, the implants often can enable sufficient hearing for better understanding of speech. The quality of sound is different from natural hearing, with less sound information being received and processed by the brain. However, many patients are able to hear and understand speech and environmental sounds. Cochlear implants are well known in the field of implantable medical devices. One such implant is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,930, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Cochlear implant systems typically consist of two components, namely, an external component, commonly referred to as a processor unit, and an internal, implanted component, commonly referred to as a receiver/stimulator unit. The internal component is implanted in the patient's skull, under the skin. In order to fix the internal component to the patient's skull, typical conventional cochlear implantation utilizes drilling into the patient's cortical bone to form anchor holes, and the internal component unit is then secured to the skull using bone screws or the like. Given the high risks involved in invasive surgical procedures, particularly in drilling into a patient's skull, it would be highly desirable to provide a far less invasive method of securing a cochlear implant to a patient's cortical bone.
Thus, an implantable medical device solving the aforementioned problems is desired.